


Truth

by Anonymous



Series: Games [3]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-12-08 17:20:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11651181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Takes place during the summer between sophomore and junior year.





	1. Summer Vacation

Stiles smiled, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. “Again.” He commanded, breathing heavily as he stood up straight. 

Theo smirked, circling Stiles, his head tilting as he looked for a weak spot. They had been at this for nearly two hours, and his boyfriend refused to back down and take a break. After what had happened with Isaac, everything seemed to settle down for a while, but Stiles had admitted that he felt restless on the last day of sophomore year. They were two weeks into summer vacation and supposed to be packing for a stay at Lydia’s lake house, but Stiles had aggravated Theo by smacking at his hands instead of letting him get started on that. It hadn’t hurt, but he knew there was only one thing he could do when Stiles wouldn’t give up: give him exactly what he was asking for. “You sure you don’t want a drink of water or a doughnut or something?” He chuckled. 

“Is that your way of saying I’m out of shape?” Stiles turned his head, watching Theo. “You don’t think I can kick your ass?” 

Theo shrugged. “You haven’t managed it yet, have you?” He glanced over his shoulder, giving the back of his pants a once-over. “No footprints to be seen. Hmm.” He laughed when Stiles tackled him to the floor of his bedroom. “Okay, you win.” He said easily. “Now let me up. I want to get our stuff into a suitcase, so that we can get out of here tonight.” 

“How are you better than I am at this? I’ve had to fight more than you. Nobody ever bullied you.” Stiles protested, frowning. He got up, holding a hand out to Theo to help him up. 

Theo smiled and took Stiles’ hand. “Maybe not, but I had a lot more free time because I wasn’t engrossed in any tv shows or youtube videos. I had to be a fast runner, too. Or at least, I thought I did. The guys that started shit with you did it because they thought you were weaker, and you proved them wrong. They weren’t interested in strategy, they just wanted to get a few hits in and intimidate you.” He kissed the uninjured corner of Stiles’ mouth. “Go get your stuff and bring it to me, then take a shower. You smell like a barn.” 

Stiles wrapped his arms around Theo, kissing his neck before he ran from the room. 

“Asshole!” Theo called after him, grinning when he heard Stiles laugh. He had never thought he would be the sentimental type, but he liked making sure he said something at least once a day to make Stiles happy. Their friendship and subsequent relationship had been built on Theo bluntly telling Stiles that he wanted to give him a chance to defend himself before Theo decided whether or not to follow through on the hit that Gerard and Kate Argent had put on Stiles’ life. It took a little longer before Theo had been willing to admit that money was his motivation; but it was for survival, not greed. Twenty-five thousand dollars bought a lot of food and paid for things like book rental fees at their high school. Since the game’s true objective had been to murder any teen that got in their way, all in an effort to seek out the best of the best, the remaining Argents had agreed to pay for Stiles, Theo and their friends to go to college as an apology. Wherever Stiles ended up, Theo was going to do his best to get there with him. 

Stiles came back to Theo’s bedroom a few minutes later, carrying an armload of clothes. “I need to be better at everything.” He murmured. “If I was stronger, I could have gotten the gun away from Isaac and he never would have killed Harris.” 

Theo sighed, pulling Stiles close. “Or he would have shot you and I wouldn’t have you with me, now. Sometimes...” He pulled back a little, looking his boyfriend in the eye. “I know that of all of our friends, you and I just don’t see the world the way they do. If Isaac had killed you, where do you think I would be?” 

“Not living in my house?” Stiles said dryly. “I know where you would be.” He put his head down on Theo’s shoulder. “Does it scare you to think about it? I don’t mean me being gone, I mean both of us being like this. I thought I was a little too hung up on Lydia, that she was just someone I had on a pedestal. But I don’t have you on one, and... it’s worse. Or better? I don’t know which way to describe it. I just know that when I’m at work now, and I won’t see you for a few hours...” He trailed off, not sure he was willing to explain his feelings. 

“I don’t remember what I did before I started spending time with you.” Theo admitted. “Stiles, go take a shower.” He laughed softly. “You don’t have to tell me what you’re thinking. I’m thinking it, too.” 

Stiles lifted his head to stare at Theo, then left the room again. 

Theo sighed shakily as he finished packing the suitcase they were going to share. He had been Lydia’s boyfriend for a couple of weeks and he appreciated her, but they hadn’t done anything more than give each other chaste kisses and hold hands. He didn’t want to think he was abusive, but sparring with Stiles and hitting him had made Theo feel more alive and affectionate than Lydia’s less than subtle hints that she wanted to share a bed with him. It did scare him, but he didn’t want to tell Stiles that. He carried the suitcase downstairs and out to his truck, setting it down in the back seat before he went back into the house and let himself into the bathroom, undressing and getting into the shower behind Stiles. He wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and kissed his shoulder. “I didn’t want to watch Isaac giving his full confession because the longer I had to sit there and look at him, the more I wanted to choke the hell out of him, just because he could have hurt you. If starting fights with me is how you want to cope, okay. We’ll do that all summer. But only as long as it’s what you want from me. And only me. If you were trying to do this with Scott, I think... I’d go blind with rage.” 

“I love you, too.” Stiles turned to face Theo. “For once, I said something in less words than somebody else. Be proud.” He bit his lip, pouting when it hurt. “I’m not going to let myself stay weak and defenseless. I'm not letting a gun be my only method of fighting back. I know I can be better than this.” 

Theo shook his head. “No.” 

“No, what?” Stiles frowned. “No, I can’t be better?” 

“No, you can’t. Because there isn’t anyone better than you.” Theo said quietly. “It does scare me, thinking about what I’d do if anyone hurt you. But I think we’re not strange, everyone else just hasn’t met someone who feels the way I feel about you. Or how you feel about me.” 

***

Lydia was waiting for them on the front porch when Theo pulled up in his truck. She ran down the steps and yanked Stiles’ door open. “There were dead bodies in the Preserve. It was on the news about ten minutes ago. It’s not necessarily anything new, someone finding a body out here. But there were five of them and they looked like they were playing a game. I’m just worried that it’s... another Isaac.” She frowned. 

While Lydia had been speaking, both guys had gotten out of the truck and listened to her. Stiles hugged Lydia. “We’ll go see what we can find out about it and I’ll call my dad if I recognize anything, okay? In the meantime, maybe don’t stand out here by yourself. Is everyone else inside?” 

“Of course they are.” Lydia followed Stiles up to the front door. “Don’t you think I would have called you if they had gone out to the woods to look for a murderer?” 

“Maybe.” Stiles mused. “I can’t really say for sure, since that’s more like something I would do, not anyone else we know.” 

“Except me.” Theo smiled. “We could go look now?” 

“Tomorrow.” Stiles suggested. “If there’s some murderous fucker out there in the woods, I’d rather attack in broad daylight than at night, when he or she would have the advantage.” 

“Or you could both let the police handle it.” Lydia opened her door. “Since every time you try to take care of it by yourselves, it goes badly.” 

“We’re getting better.” Stiles smiled and went into the house, greeting their other friends. He opened bedroom doors until he found an unoccupied room and went in, throwing himself down on the bed and looking up at the ceiling. “I don’t know if I’m ready to face someone else. Maybe we shouldn’t bother. We’re safe here. The Preserve is miles away.” 

“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?” Theo laid down on his stomach beside his boyfriend, kissing him. “I’m fine with ignoring whatever bullshit is going on out there, but... I know you won’t be. So just say the word and we’ll go.” 

Stiles smiled fondly at Theo and glanced toward the doorway when Scott knocked on the frame. “Yeah?” 

“Can I talk to you privately?” Scott asked softly. 

Stiles’ gaze went to Theo and he nodded, sitting up when his boyfriend got up from the bed and left the room. 

Scott shut the door behind him and sat cross-legged on the bed, facing Stiles. “I know that the stuff with Isaac really wrecked our friendship, and I shouldn’t have listened to Allison over you. I let her get in my head and that wasn’t right. Or fair to you. I can’t pretend that it was all on her, though. You did some questionable things and Isaac deliberately worded his letters to sound like you had written them.” 

“Is this an apology or a one-person intervention?” Stiles muttered, picking at the bedspread underneath him as he smirked, hoping to deflect. “I haven’t murdered anyone in months, they just gave me a chip for it before I came over here.” 

“I just miss the way things were.” Scott cleared his throat. “We haven’t really hung out, just you and me, since January.” 

“Well, that’s probably because the last time you and I were alone in a room together, you accused me of threatening to murder Danny, among other things. And it could also be because you’re still dating someone who hasn’t made it a secret that she hates me for shooting someone who threatened your life.” Stiles pointed out. “I’m not sure what you want me to say. I’m happy where I’m at. I won’t pretend that I don’t miss talking to you, but there’s a pretty clear line and you’re on the other side of it from where I’m at.” 

“I’m not breaking up with Allison.” Scott frowned. 

“Did I _ask_ you to break up with Allison?” Stiles licked his lips. “She makes you happy, the way Theo makes me happy. You’re still my friend, you’re just... not my best friend anymore. You’re going to have to accept that. I already have.” He got up from the bed, deciding the their conversation was as good as over as he picked up the suitcase he and Theo had brought with them. He opened it and got his laptop out, plugging it into the outlet near the bed. “I’m looking into these murders in the Preserve. Why don’t you go... do whatever it is you do, these days?” 

“You used to ask me to look at crime scene photos with you.” Scott made a face and laughed sadly. “I never thought I’d feel nostalgic about that.” 

“The times, they are a-changin’. Bob Dylan. Look it up.” Stiles muttered.


	2. A New Threat

An hour of fruitless research later, Stiles rubbed his eyes and got up from the bed, wandering down the hall. The lights were off and there was no noise from the tv, like there had been when he arrived. He took a step toward the kitchen, bringing his arm up to shield his eyes when the kitchen light turned on in front of him - and he hadn’t touched the switch. 

“It took you long enough to join us. All of your friends have been sitting here, waiting patiently for you to realize that something was wrong. What were you doing?” A woman with red hair spoke warmly to him, even though all of his friends looked terrified. 

Stiles studied her as he walked toward the chair she had pulled out for him, deciding that it was best for him to just do what she wanted. This wasn’t his first time being a hostage. “Research. I’m guessing it was on you.” 

“It was.” The woman smiled, pleased. “You’re smart. But so am I. Which is how I know...” She started circling around the table. “That this is Scott.” She put her hands down on Scott’s shoulders. “Your mother is a talker. She’s very proud of you. When she said that Scott and his friends would be at a cabin by the lake for a week, I thought she meant just a few people. For a long time, the only friend she mentioned was Stiles.” She took a step back, taking her hands off of Scott. “But now I have a problem, because I killed five teenagers in the woods last night and I need to kill eight more to accomplish what I set out to do. There are eleven of you, so I’ll need to leave three. And that’s where my problem comes in. Most of you are couples or best friends, so you’ll say that none of you are expendable. But I have a feeling that if I talk to you long enough, you’ll see that it’s a lie. And I don’t really care for lies.” 

“Neither did Dolores Umbridge, but look where that got her.” Stiles muttered. 

The woman raised a gun and smiled when Stiles went pale. “You should learn to be quiet, like your friends have been. You and Melissa both need to learn that lesson. Innocent people could get hurt if you say too much to the wrong person. Now, let’s see. One of you is the leader here, because every group has one. Those girls last night argued about it for a good forty minutes before I got tired of waiting for them to reach a decision and just killed all of them. It’s a shame, because I could have let three of them live and killed all of you, instead. Now I’ll have to leave witnesses, but I guess that’s my cross to bear. Or... something like that. Who among you is the most expendable? Or the least, as it may be?” 

“None of us are what I would call expendable.” Stiles said easily, staring at her and refusing to look at the gun. He tried to ignore the inner voice that seemed hellbent on reminding him that looking away from a gun had been the reason Harris was dead. “We all have good qualities.” 

“Oh, is that so? Well, like I said, that’s not true. At least one person here hates someone else. Melissa really is a talker. Allison, raise your hand for me?” 

Allison lifted a hand from where she had been resting both on the table, as she had been instructed. “I’m right here.” 

“You’re the one that hates Stiles, aren’t you? But this is a problem, as I said, because you’re Scott’s girlfriend. But Stiles is his best friend, and if I leave the three of you alive, that would mean killing the boyfriend that lives in the Sheriff’s house. And I’m sure that if I asked Stiles, he would say he hates you, and he would rather see his boyfriend live. So maybe the best course of action is to kill the four of you right now and then figure out the other four after that.” 

“Or you could go find eight other people and kill them.” Stiles pointed out, doing his best to sound bored. “Before I get sick of hearing you rhapsodize and off myself.” 

“I’ve decided I’m not going to shoot you. You’re entertaining.” The woman smiled. “Smile, you get to live.” 

“That’s...” Stiles closed his eyes when she pointed her gun at Erica and fired, shooting her in the shoulder. Beside him, Lydia screamed. 

“Take it easy, she’s not going to bleed out. Not if you get her medical attention in time. If you decide to let her live.” She pulled Erica to the floor and moved her onto her side when the blonde started to seize. 

“You’re a nurse?” Lydia asked, trying to keep her voice steady. 

“How else do you think I know Melissa?” 

Erica started sobbing when her seizure ended. “Kill me. You want someone to die, just kill me. It... I’m expendable. I’m useless. You all know it. They won’t say it.” She looked up at the nurse. “They’ll say that they need me around. Just one thing.” She asked softly. “Why do you need to kill thirteen people?” 

“To bring back the magic. To wake up Peter Hale.” 

“Oh. Okay.” Erica sat up, grabbing the gun away from the woman and screaming at the pain in her shoulder. She threw it carefully, sending it skidding under the table. 

Stiles lifted his feet, his eyes wide as he yelled for his friends to do the same. He had realized what could happen if any of them bumped the trigger, now that he knew the safety was off. In the confusion, the nurse ran, turning the light off and fleeing the cabin. He stood up slowly, checking for the gun on the floor and making sure he didn’t trip over Erica as he turned the kitchen light back on. “Lydia, call for an ambulance. You’re the only one that can give directions to this place. Scott, take care of Erica. Danny, call my dad.” 

“You’re not going after her?” Theo asked, standing up. He bent and picked up the gun, putting the safety back on and setting it on the counter. 

“No, I’m not. I don’t know which direction she ran and I’m not interested in searching the whole county to try to find her.” Stiles murmured. “We’ll give a description and they can figure out who she is, but she’s not going back to work. Not now, since cops will just arrest her the second she shows up. Which means going to her house is also a waste of time. She won’t be there, either. Is everyone else all right?” 

“I think I might throw up.” Cora stood up shakily. “What does she want with my uncle?” 

“You heard her, she’s crazyflakes.” Jackson protested. 

“She was never going to shoot us to kill us.” Stiles crouched by Erica, brushing her hair away from her face as Scott and Boyd tended to her bullet wound. “How are you doing?” 

“I’m fucking peachy.” Erica snapped. “I’m so glad to know that I got a bullet in my shoulder and that she wasn’t going to kill us, she just felt like waving a loaded gun around with the safety off and it accidentally hit me and fucked me up.” She whimpered. 

“She’s convinced that she’s doing some kind of ritual spell, so she’s got to treat her human sacrifices as human sacrifices. The public information doesn’t say it, but I bet she’s been slitting their throats.” Stiles muttered. “And you’re tough, you can handle a scar from a bullet. It’ll just make you look even more badass.” 

“Tell that to the urine you’re crouching in.” Erica muttered, laughing weakly when Stiles looked down. “Got you. For once, I didn’t wet myself.” She started crying again. “I’d like to go back to doing that and not being shot, though.” 

“It went through.” Scott said quietly. “That’s actually better in some ways, because they won’t have to retrieve it.” 

After Boyd went to the hospital with Erica in the ambulance, Stiles gave his statement to Parrish. Lydia and Allison finished packing their friends’ things back into their bags. They loaded all of the suitcases and duffel bags into the back of Theo’s truck. Nobody really felt like hanging around the lake house, even if it hadn’t become a crime scene that Parrish told them they had to vacate. 

“My house?” Stiles asked, looking around to make sure everyone agreed. He reached for the passenger side door of Theo’s truck, but Allison stopped him. 

“I just want to ask you something.” Allison looked hesitant. “Okay. Let’s say it was just you and me in a room, and she said that you had to decide whether I got to live or die. And Scott wouldn’t know about it, no matter what. Would you tell her to shoot me?” 

Stiles’ lips parted and he stared back at Allison. “What do you think I’d say, if we were in that situation?” 

“I don’t know, that’s why I’m asking you.” Allison stepped back. “Forget it, it’s stupid.” 

“It is.” Stiles agreed. “Because no matter what else I do in my life, you’ll forever see me as a monster instead of the guy that saved your boyfriend from a painful, slow death. To answer your question, no. I wouldn’t tell her to shoot you. Is that enough now for you to believe me, for once?” 

“I think I’m starting to.” Allison bit her lip. “Interesting choice of words, by the way. Kate and Gerard were the ones who saw monsters everywhere they looked. Not me. We’re never going to really be able to trust each other completely, are we? Scott’s our only common link.” 

“Yeah, sure. Almost being murdered three times doesn’t count for anything these days.” Stiles snorted. “You’re coming to my house because _Scott_ is coming to my house. We’ll talk more there, if you want to talk. We got along for a few hours once. I think we can do it again.” He got into the truck, closing the door behind him and looking over at Theo as he fastened his seatbelt. “So. Remember how I kept distracting you, every time you tried to pack today?” 

Theo laughed. “What, now you’re some kind of psychic? Is that what you’re saying?” 

“Hey, if deranged nurses can sacrifice teenagers to wake up a guy in a coma, I can be psychic.” Stiles smiled. “I’m so fucking tired right now. How do we always end up like this?” 

“I don’t know, but I hope that for her sake, your dad and Parrish find her before I do.” Theo started the truck and turned around in the driveway. “I already told you what I thought I might do if someone else hurt you. She might not have done it physically, but I saw your face when you realized she had a gun and when she shot Erica. I’m going to have to kill her.” He looked over at Stiles. “You have to know that I’m not joking or exaggerating.” 

“I do know that.” Stiles nodded. “She signed her own death warrant when she came looking for all of us. I think I might have to help you find her. But hey, good news? We know what she looks like and where she’ll probably go.” 

“Why are we going home, then?” Theo demanded. 

“Because that’s where my dad is going to expect us to be, and he’s probably already there, wanting to make sure we arrive safely. We have everybody’s stuff here, and Lydia made sure to leave it with us because she knows how we are. She wanted to guarantee that we at least stop at the house.” 

Theo’s jaw clenched, but he nodded after a moment of deliberation. “Okay, but you’re resting for a few hours because you look like you’re going to pass out, and then we’re leaving. I’m not waiting for sunrise to find this bitch. I want her dead.” 

“Don’t leave without me.” Stiles gave Theo a knowing look. 

“Fuck.” Theo muttered. “Fine. I’ll wait for you.”


	3. Awakened

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter contains somewhat graphic descriptions of a crime scene.

Stiles woke up suddenly, swinging a fist at the person standing over him. He blinked when the unidentified shadow gripped his wrist and spoke softly. “What? Say that again.” 

Theo sat down on the edge of Stiles’ bed, sliding his hand up, past Stiles’ wrist, to lace their fingers together. “Baby, I don’t think you should go looking for anybody tonight. I was trying to wake you up so that we could get out of here, but you just tried to punch me in the face.” He laughed softly. “And normally, I’d take that as an invitation to pin you down and kiss you senseless, but instead I’m going to ask you if this is what you really want. We can sit out. Or at least, you can. I meant what I said, I’m not letting it go.” 

Stiles sat up, resting his free hand on Theo’s shoulder as he leaned in for a kiss. “Well, neither am I. Is everyone else asleep?” 

“Yeah.” Theo nodded. “Your shoes are by the door, downstairs. You need anything?” 

“No. Uh, wait. Yeah. Wake Jackson up and tell him we’re leaving. Somebody should be awake to keep an eye on everyone while we’re out, and he’s the only one that would understand this, I think. Everybody else would tell us to reconsider. Except Lydia, but she’d be pissed off at us for waking her up and making her take guard duty.” Stiles murmured. 

“Five minutes.” Theo left the room and went into the living room, shaking Jackson’s shoulder. He kept his other hand raised, just in case Stiles wasn’t the only one who reacted violently to being woken up unexpectedly. 

“You’d better either be Scarlett Johansson or her agent, telling me she wants my dick.” Jackson muttered. “Wha’time is it?” 

Theo laughed. “Time for you to get a new dream. Stiles and I are going out to look for Nurse Ratched, and he wanted someone to make sure you all don’t get murdered in your sleep.” 

“I don’t know what scares me more, the fact that he got to you and made you start using movie references, or that someone is trying to kill us again.” Jackson stood up. “I’m making coffee. I guess you’ll be gone before it’s done?” 

“That’s the plan.” Theo smiled. “And by the way? It was a book before it was a movie.” 

“Somehow, you decided that I give a shit.” Jackson remarked, going into the kitchen. “If you’re not back by sunrise, I’m telling everyone where you went.” 

“If we’re not back by sunrise, we’re probably dead anyway, so go right ahead.” Theo went down the stairs and outside, getting into the driver’s side of his truck as Stiles got in the other side. 

“I heard you.” Stiles muttered. “That wasn’t exactly what I would call optimistic.” 

“Since when have I ever been optimistic? That’s Scott’s job.” Theo smiled. “She doesn’t have her gun anymore and might not have been able to get her hands on another one in the past few hours. What do you think? Should we be-” 

“I’m coming with you.” Allison climbed into the back seat of Theo’s truck. “Stop off at my house, I have something I want to pick up.” 

Stiles turned around in his seat. “We’re going out there to kill her. I just want you to understand that.” 

“I know.” Allison said calmly. “I don’t have to like it, but I’ve learned by now that I can’t stop you. Neither of you are armed and I have a crossbow at home, among other things. There’s no point in being stupid about this. You need weapons.” 

Theo grinned and pulled out of the driveway. “I figured you would come around eventually.” He glanced at her in the rearview mirror. “Bring me something?” 

“Maybe.” Allison said carefully. She wasn’t going to leave them defenseless, but she wasn’t going to promise them anything she didn’t feel comfortable carrying out of the garage. “Any chance you’ll be comfortable just using tranquilizer darts instead of murdering her?” 

“I think if it was up to Erica, we’d have that woman’s head as a hood ornament.” Stiles smiled crookedly. “So no, we’re not taking the safe option and giving her a chance to come back at us one day. She’s already committed murder, she’s not getting redemption.” 

Allison knew that it wouldn’t be wise to point out the flaws in Stiles’ way of thinking. She turned her attention to Theo, instead. “Have you ever killed anyone? You don’t have any problem with this?” 

Theo shook his head, laughing softly. “Did you have to have sex with Scott to know you liked dick?” 

Allison blushed faintly. “No.” She mumbled. 

“So why do I have to commit a murder to know whether or not I’d be fine with it?” Theo asked, parking in front of Allison’s house. “I’m giving you ten minutes and then we’re gone.” 

“I only need five.” Allison said confidently, getting out of the truck and going into the garage through the side door. 

“Want me to ditch her right now, anyway?” Theo offered, looking over at Stiles. 

“Uh, I’m gonna pass on that plan.” Stiles laughed, looking down at his hands as he spoke. “We just brought her here to get weapons, she knows where we live, and I’m actually, actively trying to get along with her. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. Even when I wasn’t so sure that was what I wanted. I don’t like making Scott feel like shit, he already had it bad enough when his parents were fighting all the time.” He lifted his gaze to look at Theo. “You love me?” 

“I love you so much that I’m about to kill someone for pointing a gun at you, even though she shot someone else with it, instead.” Theo licked his lips, frowning. “Why are you asking?” 

“Because I love you, too.” Stiles leaned toward Theo, kissing him softly. “So I’m going to tell you right now not to die, because I expect to be able to spend the rest of the summer with you. And my life, even though I know that’s crazy talk.” 

Theo smiled fondly at his boyfriend, slightly startled when Allison got back into the truck before he could say that he felt the same way and didn’t think that was crazy at all. He promised himself that they would talk about it later. 

“I’m assuming you guys know where we’re going?” Allison asked, taking one of the guns out of the bag she had brought with her. She started loading bullets into the chambers as Theo drove toward the Preserve. 

“She picked a specific location for this.” Stiles explained. “So where the bodies were found, that’s where she’ll be. And if any deputies have the misfortune of waiting there for her, she’ll just see it as fortuitous. A gift from her gods or whatever.” 

Allison started loading the second gun, nodding in response to Stiles’ explanation. “How do you know so much about ritual killings?” 

“True crime novels.” Theo and Stiles said together. 

Stiles grinned. “And the fact that I had a serious problem with old people buying chicken feet from the butcher shop. I was trying to figure out what they could be used for and ended up on this wiki spiral about satanic cults and human sacrifices.” 

“Were you like this when you were little?” Allison smiled. “Did you Google ‘murder’ when you were a kid?” 

“I used to sneak into my dad’s office to look at crime scene photos.” Stiles corrected. “No need to do a web search for murder when I could see it a little bit closer than that and not end up on a watch list.” 

The three of them stopped talking for a few minutes as Theo drove and parked in the lot near one of the hiking trails. He got out, accepting the gun that Allison held out to him. “Thanks.” He tucked it into his waistband and made a face. “This feels weird.” 

Stiles laughed. “You don’t have to do it like that. It can be awkward if you’re not used to it, and I was paranoid for awhile that I’d end up shooting myself in the ass.” He gave Allison an expectant look. “Holsters?” 

“You can’t get mad at me for trying to have a little fun.” Allison smiled and handed shoulder holsters to both of the guys. 

“I could just shoot you in the ass.” Theo smirked, watching Stiles to see how to use the holster. 

Stiles winked at Theo and helped him adjust the straps to be more comfortable. “You’ve really never used a gun, have you?” 

“You aim and shoot, right?” Theo frowned. 

“Oh my gosh.” Allison muttered. 

Stiles moved to stand behind Theo, helping him adjust his stance and explaining about recoil. “You had planned on murdering her because of me, and you don’t know how to use a gun? What were you going to do?” 

“Stab her, I guess.” Theo looked embarrassed. “Shut up, I would have done it.” 

“No, I believe you.” Stiles smiled, turning Theo toward him for a kiss. “You’re good at planning, you just let your temper get the better of you this time.” 

Allison cleared her throat. “Let’s get going.” She gestured for Stiles to lead the way, keeping her crossbow at her side as they walked. She thought their relationship was weird, but also kind of sweet, in a twisted way. She still thought her relationship with Scott outranked everyone else’s, but she knew that was her personal bias. 

When they had been walking for half an hour, Stiles held a hand up to signal for Theo and Allison to stop. He pointed to the ground, where blood pooled on the dirt path. The blood trail led off to the right, and Stiles felt a little wary about it. He kept his voice at a whisper as he spoke. “This isn’t right. The bloodletting should be at the ritual site. This looks like a trap.” 

“And you don’t think that it’s just an animal hunting another animal?” Allison frowned. 

“You’d see more of a struggle.” Theo explained. “And probably some drag lines as the predatory animal pulled the downed prey somewhere else, to eat it.” 

“Well, how do you know that the hunting animal didn’t eat the other one right here?” Allison wasn’t trying to be argumentative. Hunting had never been something that interested her; practicing hitting a target in a field was as far as she had been willing to go. 

Stiles put a hand on Allison’s shoulder, sensing her discomfort. “There aren’t any bones or fur around here. If something, let’s say a mountain lion, attacked a deer? There would be remnants if it ate the deer right here. Most likely, in that kind of situation, it’s going to want to feed the babies and it would carry the kill off, as much as it could. Hence the drag lines. No drag lines, no animal death. This was a human that bled out just enough to go willingly. Or, being a nurse, our resident nutjob swiped blood from somewhere and dumped some of it here, then left us a path. Whatever we’re going to walk into, it’s not going to be pretty. She’s waiting for us.” 

“Do you think she’s waiting for us, to add us to her required total?” Theo took a deep breath in. 

“No.” Stiles shook his head. “That would be too much of a risk, and she’s short on time, now that she can’t just walk around like a regular person. She got her eight people the second she fled. I don’t want to think about where they came from, but she probably grabbed ones who couldn’t fight back so easily. Peter Hale’s comatose, so she probably...” He grimaced. “I’m not finishing that thought. The blood isn’t dry enough to have been left here awhile, so if we hurry, we might get to her before she finishes. I’m all about saving people.” 

Allison wondered why that sounded like a familiar phrase, but she chalked it up to Stiles having a habit of randomly quoting things and not explaining himself. She followed Stiles, mindful of Theo at her back. She knew better than to think that they would bring her out here and hurt or kill her, but Theo’s lack of experience with a gun, combined with his eagerness to commit murder, made for a dangerous combination. 

“I’m glad you could make it. Oh, and you brought friends.” The nurse clasped her hands together like they were about to have a tea party. “But not all of your friends?” 

“No. Besides, it only really takes one bullet to kill you.” Stiles’ gaze flicked over the bodies surrounding an oversized tree stump. He wouldn’t let himself think of the still-bleeding corpse in front of him as a person, but he had a bad taste in his mouth as he looked back at the woman. “We don’t need everyone here for that.” 

“It’s too bad for you that you won’t get to see that your ritual to wake up a guy in a coma won’t work, by the way.” Theo pulled his gun out of the holster, aiming it at her, the way that Stiles had demonstrated. 

“Oh, I don’t have to see him to know if it worked.” The nurse smiled like she knew something they didn’t know. 

Stiles felt a cold chill as he immediately looked past her once more, silently counting the bodies surrounding the stump. 

“Twelve.” The nurse murmured. She lifted a dagger, dragging the blade down one forearm. “I’m number thirteen, you see? I wasn’t going to be, but I had to start all over.” 

“Because of us meddling kids?” Stiles guessed. 

The woman laughed, taking a step back and holding her arm over the tree stump. “Sure, you could say that.” She nodded. “You know, any other way, and maybe we would have gotten along. It’s a pity. But if his son changes, I’ll know that I did my civic duty.” 

As her blood hit the stump, a wave of purple light radiated outward. It came along with a wave of warmth that knocked all three of them backward and reminded Stiles far too much of the day that Isaac Lahey had murdered their chemistry teacher. 

When Stiles got to his feet, he held a hand out to Theo, but his boyfriend waved him off with a claw-tipped hand. 

“What the hell is this, some kind of prank?” Allison demanded, moving to stand beside Stiles as she looked down at Theo. 

“Not a prank.” The nurse rasped, a pleased smile on her face. She was sitting with her back against the stump. “I just gave the town back what other people took away from it, years ago.” 

Theo stood up, unfastening his holster and holding it, and the gun, out toward Stiles and Allison. He didn’t look at either of them, but he could feel their eyes taking in his claws and fangs, and he felt himself growl in frustration. 

Stiles silently took the holster, nodding and taking a deep breath in. 

Theo rushed forward, swiping his claws across the woman’s throat and ending her life. He turned toward Stiles, finally meeting his gaze. “Is this...” He changed his mind and turned his attention to Allison. “Is this what your family meant when they said they hunt monsters? Are you going to kill me now?” 

Allison shook her head. “I don’t know what’s going on.” She said gently. “But whatever she did to you, it’s not your fault.” 

“I don’t know how to make it go away.” Theo muttered. “Stiles, stop staring at me.” 

“No.” Stiles handed his own holstered gun, along with Theo’s, over to Allison before he approached his boyfriend. “Would you suddenly hate me if I had green eyes or blonde hair?” 

“No, but those things wouldn't suit you, and there’s a big difference between hair dye and contacts and... whatever this is.” Theo protested. “What am I?” 

“Mine.” Stiles smiled gently. He put his hands on Theo’s shoulders and leaned in to kiss him.


	4. Werewolves

When Stiles, Allison and Theo got back to the Stilinski house, Scott and Jackson were in the basement. Both of them had glowing yellow eyes, claws and fangs. They were as far away from one another as they could get, and their shirts were torn in multiple places. 

Theo eyed Scott and Jackson, then sat down in the middle of the room, on the floor. “Okay, so, how the hell do we fix this?” 

“I don’t know.” Stiles admitted. “I’ll find a way, but -” 

“You have to find your anchor.” Derek said gently as he walked down the stairs, Cora following behind him. “When the Argents set our house on fire, it was because of what we are. Werewolves. Afterward, none of us could shift. It was like what had made them hate us was gone. Laura signed up to do the dares because she wanted to find a way to reverse whatever it was, but they were going to use her for research. She fought back and they murdered her. And then they found Cora and told me that if I cooperated with them, they would keep her safe and they wouldn’t hurt her. That for every dare I did, for all the money I earned, Cora could have real food or something to drink, or a hot shower. A warm bed. A blanket.” He looked back at his sister, then stepped down into the basement, from the bottom stair. “Your anchor is the thing that helps you shift back to your human form.” 

“Okay.” Stiles bit his lip as he watched Derek and Cora shift into wolf form. “I understand that they’re doing this. And that Jackson and Theo would.” He nodded, looking up at Scott. “But why you?” 

“I think I know why.” Scott smiled hesitantly. “The night that I had to get the dogs from the cage and free them? One of them bit me. I thought they looked like wolves, but it was dark and it was pretty easy for them to have been mixed-breed dogs. I guess whatever you three did, it... took away whatever was blocking me from becoming a werewolf.” 

“It wasn’t us. It was that nurse.” Stiles reached down to ruffle the fur between Derek’s ears, not thinking much about it. He heard a growl and glanced up at Theo, lifting both hands defensively and stepping away from his ex-boyfriend. “Sorry. She said that she didn’t need to see Peter awake to know she had succeeded, that having his son there would tell her all she needed to know. Well, my dad and I might not agree on shit half the time, but I know he’s my dad. And unless you and Allison are hiding a secret from the rest of us...” 

“Shut up.” Allison rolled her eyes, smiling. “Theo is Peter Hale’s son. And since Jackson is also a werewolf, he’s either been bitten or he’s also related to the Hales?” 

“Look at them.” Stiles pointed to Theo and Jackson. “Well, maybe not right now. Hold on.” He got his phone out of his pocket and found a picture of both of the guys in question, showing it to Allison. “See? Every time I try to bring it up, Theo tells me not to talk about it.” 

“Because I don’t really care.” Theo added. “I don’t want to be adopted by the Whittemores and live with them. I don’t need any parents. I’m fine on my own.” 

“Except that you’re not actually on your own. You’ve got me.” Stiles walked toward Theo, careful not to step on any paws or tails on his way across the basement. “Let me try to help you?” 

Theo stared at Stiles, self-conscious because his words were slurred when he spoke. “I know I’m yours, and that I have you. I didn’t just forget any of that in the past hour. But I was already messed up before this, and you can’t say I wasn’t. What if I’m stuck like this?” 

“You’re not.” Stiles reached for Theo’s hand, lacing their fingers together carefully, deliberately. He looked up at him when he was done. “I’ll help you figure it out. Do you know what a panic attack is like?” 

Theo shook his head, staring at Stiles like he had never seen him before.

“It hurts. Breathing feels like you have concrete blocks on your chest, like you’re walking through quicksand when you try to move. And that’s just when it blindsides you and it comes on fast. Sometimes, it’s... I can’t eat, my head hurts, sleep is impossible. And it always ends up that I don’t realize until it’s over that I was like that for days. I think the reason you haven’t just gone back to... the form you’re used to...” Stiles said carefully, determined not to refer to it as ‘normal,’ when he knew that Theo was scared. “It’s because you’re kind of stuck in your own head right now.” He brought his other hand up to Theo’s shoulder, leaning in to kiss his cheek. He trailed his lips over his boyfriend’s skin, kissing the corner of his mouth before he did the same to the other side and lowered his lips to Theo’s neck. “Just close your eyes and breathe in and out. Focus on me and what I’m doing to you.” Stiles said softly. He heard a series of footsteps on the stairs, and then they were alone, but he didn’t stop. 

Theo followed Stiles’ instructions, losing himself to the sensation of lips on his skin. He could hear Stiles’ heartbeat and found himself matching the steady thump with his every inhale and exhale. “I don’t scare you?” 

“No.” Stiles slid his free hand under Theo’s shirt, trailing his fingers up and down his lover’s chest. “Shh. Relax.” After a moment, he lifted their joined hands. “Open your eyes.” 

Theo looked at his fingernails, relieved to see them instead of blackened claws. He ran his tongue over his blunt teeth and blinked, looking at Stiles. “How did you know how to do that?” 

“Well, honestly? I didn’t.” Stiles smiled crookedly. “But I know how to make you relax and get out of your head for a little while, and I thought it might just be the same thing, you know? I think I messed up earlier tonight, telling you that you were mine while you were like that. You’re not a possession, nobody owns you.” 

“You do.” Theo nodded slowly. “Not in a creepy way, I know. But I can hear your heartbeat now. Not just because of the fangs. I can hear it, and I can smell that you’re scared, even if you don’t think you are.” 

Stiles moved to sit on the stairs, guiding Theo along with him. “It’s not because of you. Not directly. Magic just became a real thing. _Werewolves_ are a real thing. Nothing about me is any different, but Scott is. You and Jackson, and Cora and Derek? My actual fear is that I won’t be able to relate to any of you. Not for that. You’re still you, but you’ve got something now that I won’t understand firsthand.” 

“Claws and fangs?” Theo scoffed, putting an arm around Stiles and pulling him close. “Baby, you might not physically have them, but you’re no different from me. You never have been. It doesn’t matter that I killed her with claws and you would have used a gun, we both wanted her dead.” He made a face when he realized he was starting to get a little sappy, but he wanted to make sure Stiles heard how he felt. “Magic was around before that bitch unlocked it the rest of the way. Otherwise, how the hell else do you explain the night we met?” 

“That would be sweeter if we hadn’t pretty much immediately gone on to date other people.” Stiles teased. “It took us a little while to figure ourselves out, and it’s going to take a little while for us to figure out what we need to know about werewolves. That is, assuming you don’t want to just go talk to Derek about it.” 

Theo growled, shaking his head. “Not a chance in hell. You got me to change back, we’ll do the rest of it together, too. Just you and me. I don’t really... I mean, I trust the others, they’re my friends as much as they’re yours, but you’re the one that matters the most to me.” 

“So, then... what was holding you back? You thought I was scared of you and we were going to break up?” Stiles asked softly. 

Theo grimaced. “Yeah.” He admitted. “It might not be something the rest of them understand, but I belong to you and you’re mine, too. You know that you are.” 

Stiles stared at Theo for a few seconds, then moved to straddle his hips, right there on the stairs. “I promise you right now.” He said quietly, putting his hands on Theo’s shoulders. “I’m not going anywhere. I like that we’re different from Scott and Allison, that sometimes I can look at you and know exactly what you’re thinking. You think I could ever be scared of you? It feels good to have you with me, to know that I don’t have to explain myself when I just want...” He wasn’t sure how to finish what he was saying, but he knew Theo understood him, anyway. 

“Someone not afraid to hit back when you’re starting a fight?” Theo guessed, smiling. “I might be a little cautious for awhile, though. Because of my claws.” 

Stiles’ smile turned devious. “Not too much, though. Now come on, I want to go upstairs and sleep.” 

“Liar.” Theo smirked, a curious look on his face as he wrapped his arm around Stiles’ waist, tightening his grip as he stood. 

“Holy shit.” Stiles muttered. “Okay, don’t get in the habit of that.” He laughed. “But for now, carry me upstairs.” 

***

Stiles woke up a few hours later, when the sun was shining in through his window. He grumbled, rolling onto his side and draping himself over Theo. “You’re warm.” He murmured. 

“Okay, that’s definitely not something I ever wanted to see.” Scott spoke from the doorway. 

Without opening his eyes, Stiles grabbed the pillow out from under his head and threw it at his friend. “I’m laying in bed with my boyfriend and you just walked your fuzzy ass in here, what did you think you were going to see?” 

“I’ve been a werewolf for less than twelve hours.” Scott protested, throwing the pillow back at Stiles and walking over to his closet to get clothes for him. “You don’t need to make jokes about me having fur.” 

“Who the hell said anything about werewolves?” Stiles grinned. 

“Maybe don’t talk about Scott’s ass while I’m laying here?” Theo laughed, kissing Stiles softly. “That’s not the best thing to wake up to. You know what is?” 

“I’m still in here, don’t start having sex.” Scott protested. “We need to talk about what we’re doing about this, and you two are the last ones up.” 

Theo put his hand over Stiles’ mouth, muffling his sarcastic response. “We’re capable of getting our own clothes. We’ll be in the living room in a few minutes. If Jackson hasn’t started making coffee, someone else will need to. And...” He pulled his hand away from Stiles’ mouth. “What else?” 

“Breakfast.” Stiles smiled. “There are Eggos in the freezer and we’ve got cereal. I’m not really in the mood to cook right now.” 

“Okay.” Scott didn’t bother hiding his disappointment. He had been hoping for pancakes and bacon, but he had a feeling that if he suggested it, Stiles would do something horrific. He hurried out of the room, shutting the door behind him. 

Stiles got out of bed, pulling underwear and jeans on before he started going through his dresser, trying to find a clean t-shirt. He pulled a Mountain Dew shirt on and went across the hall to get clean clothes for Theo, tossing them to his boyfriend before he went down the hall to the kitchen. “Okay, explain werewolves to me.” He told Derek as he passed him, getting a stack of plates from the cabinet and setting them down by the toaster. 

Derek gave Stiles a wary look as he followed him. “Why do you need to know?” 

“For fuck’s sake.” Stiles muttered, rolling his eyes. “My boyfriend is a werewolf, and so is his twin brother. Your uncle, you and your sister are _also_ werewolves, and so is Scott. If this means you need to be on a special diet - and don’t laugh at me, I’m serious - I need to know. If wearing silver jewelry could hurt you now, I don’t want to get Cora a necklace or something for Christmas and find out too late that I might as well have told her to go fuck herself. What else... uh, you can be actual wolves, so... can you get stuck like that, like how you got stuck being human? Do I need to go get collars for you? And before you give me shit for even asking that, let me remind you that for awhile, I actually had a tracker chip in my arm. Allison and Scott had them, too. I would rather not have to pick any of you up from the pound for not having tags. If a hunter or somebody kidnaps you, I want to know that I can find you. I should have made you get a tracker in your arm too, after I killed Kate. But it’s not like I thought you might actually be a werewolf.” 

Derek scowled. “Cora and I can take care of ourselves. We can teach Scott. And the others, if they want.” 

“I don’t.” Theo got butter out of the fridge and grabbed a knife as the first round of waffles popped up from the toaster. “At least, not from you. I don’t have to like you, just like Allison isn’t obligated to like Stiles. We might not be the best of friends, all around? But I’ll work with you if or when I have to. For this, I don’t.” 

Stiles waited until Derek left the kitchen before he spoke softly to Theo, trying to get him to change his mind. “You know that he’s your cousin?” He wasn’t trying to be condescending, he just knew that unless it was said out loud, there were a lot of things that Theo refused to acknowledge. Uttering the words for anything was like an oath to him. 

“Yeah, I did manage to figure that out.” Theo shook his head and spread butter across the warm waffles. “But where the hell was he seven years ago when I needed him?” 

Stiles tapped his fingers on the counter, lost in thought. Seven years earlier, Theo’s parents and sister had moved away and left him behind, and David Whittemore and his wife took over caring for Theo, even though they never directly interacted with the boy. Jackson and Theo had been adopted almost as soon as they were born, due to the fact that nobody knew who their father was, at the time. He wandered back down the hall to his bedroom, where he started writing things down in a notebook. The twins were born and adopted by two different families in Beacon Hills. The Raekens left town nine years later, right around the time some kids hit puberty, and a werewolf child with a heart transplant might heal faster than normal. Stiles scrawled a note to himself, intending to double-check on that concept. The Whittemores started taking care of Theo in the only way they thought they would be allowed to, given how Jackson had reacted to learning he was adopted. He bit his lip, squinting as he wished he could see into the past. A year after Theo’s adoptive parents left him, the Hale house caught on fire and werewolves became human. Underneath ‘2005’ on his timeline, Stiles wrote ‘2002’ and added in the details of his mother’s death, wondering if there might be a different explanation for her leaving him so early in his life. He drew an arrow to where he meant for it to be in his timeline, then set the notebook aside and told himself not to think about it until he had something to eat. He walked back out to the living room, sitting on the couch and eyeing the wolves on the floor. He doubted that Jackson and Scott had managed to learn a full shift in the past few hours, so he could only assume that they were Cora and Derek. Based on Theo’s reaction, Stiles knew better than to even try petting the Hales. 

“Stiles, come eat breakfast.” Theo called out to him. 

Stiles laughed to himself and got up from the couch, going into the kitchen. “How did you know I was out there?” 

“I can hear your heartbeat, remember?” Theo pulled a chair out for Stiles. “You’re never going to be able to sneak up on me again. Sucks for you.” 

“I’ll find a way.” Stiles grinned, cutting into the waffles on his plate. “I guess going back to the cabin isn’t going to work? We need to visit Erica. I know her parents are just going to say shit about us putting her in danger again, but it’s not like we planned on a psychotic nurse awakening magic in this town.” He snorted, shaking his head. “I thought it was bad enough when regular people just wanted to kill me, now I have to learn to defend myself against magic, too? I really regret every reference to Harry Potter I’ve ever made. I’m also wondering why the fuck I never got my acceptance letter to Hogwarts.” 

“Because that shit is made up.” Theo sat down across from Stiles and took a drink from his glass of orange juice. 

“How do you know?” Stiles protested. “Maybe there really are magic schools. I need to tell my dad about all of this. He’s going to be home any minute, anyway.” He turned his head toward the kitchen doorway. “That means you furry beings need to not be furry when he gets here!” He made a face as he heard both wolves running down to the basement. “Any minute now, I’m going to wake up in Eichen House and find out that I’ve actually cracked and lost every shred of sanity I have, and that this is some kind of delusion.” 

“Would that make it easier?” Theo stared at him. “If none of this was real, if we were all ordinary people and you were hallucinating, you think that would be better, somehow?” He heard the front door open and close quietly, but decided not to alert Stiles to his father being home. 

“I think that it’s possible that... before the Hales suffered the loss of most of their family members, magic was a thing in this town and my mom was magic. That maybe someone messed with her or cursed her or something and that her death wasn’t...” Stiles grimaced. “Have you heard of pre-eclampsia? They said my mom had it. That she suffered eclampsia afterward and that somehow triggered the dementia. But if she was magic and I’m magic, maybe...” 

“You’re not. I wish it was that simple, that you could find a way to maybe go back in time and reverse all of it.” Noah spoke from the doorway, smiling sadly at his son. “I just spent the last few hours trying to fix a lot of problems that cropped up last night. I could use your help with that, if you want to give it? I came home to try to rest for a couple of hours before I go back in. It’s not going to help you to think you’re to blame for your mother being how she was, and I hate to break it to you, kid, but you’re normal. Just a regular human guy, like me. Just like your mom was. Perfectly mortal, not the least bit magical. I’m sorry that you’re not finding out that you’re a wizard.” He shook his head. “At least you won’t have to deal with, uh...” 

“Voldemort.” Stiles supplied. He dragged his sleeve across his eyes and got up from the table to hug his dad. “Then you know about the Hales already?” 

“Yeah, I do. And their uncle’s awake and wouldn’t mind seeing them.” Noah patted Stiles’ back. “And I think you should probably go with? Maybe be there for his kids when he meets them for the first time?” 

“I don’t want to meet him.” Theo protested. “I don’t need him. I never have.” 

“Then don’t go for your sake.” Stiles shook his head. “Go because Jackson needs this and he’s too much of a stubborn asshole to admit that to himself.” He gave his boyfriend a pointed look. 

Theo laughed. “Why the hell do I love you?” 

“I don’t know.” Stiles shrugged. “But at least you know it’s not from me casting a spell on you.” 

***

Stiles stood near the door of Peter’s hospital room, his arms folded across his chest because the room was cold and he was trying not to shiver. He watched as Derek and Cora hugged their uncle, whose eyes flared red. Stiles mentally added one more question to the myriad he had written down, earlier in the morning. 

“Uncle Peter.” Cora looked up at her cousins. “These are your sons, Jackson and Theo.” She nodded to them. “Their birth mom died in a car accident and they were both adopted to other families in town.” 

Peter gave the twins a curious look. “And that one?” He gestured to Stiles. 

“ _That one_ has a name and is capable of answering questions himself.” Stiles remarked. He felt guilty for already arguing with the guy who was going to be his father-in-law one day, not to mention a werewolf who could probably behead him with the flick of his wrist, but he was tired and apprehensive. “You’ll have to forgive me for not waving my pom-poms at your sudden recovery, but your very own Annie Wilkes slaughtered seventeen people before she offed herself, all because caffeine and prayer weren’t getting results.” 

“Stiles.” Derek’s tone held a warning, but Peter put a hand on his nephew’s arm. 

“No, don’t criticize him.” Peter smiled. “What are you doing here, Stiles? Are you their chauffeur? Their bodyguard?” He smirked. “Their pet?” 

“Moral support.” Stiles remarked, standing up straight. “Just don’t ask what my moral code actually is.” 

“He’s my boyfriend.” Theo stared at his father. “And he’s friends with Jackson.” 

“And me.” Cora added. “And he used to date Derek.” 

“Very interesting.” Peter murmured. “I probably don’t have any money in the wallet I was brought in with, but I'm sure that between the four of you, you can put together enough change to get yourselves something to eat while I talk to your human friend?” 

“Go ahead.” Stiles said quickly, before Theo could have the chance to growl at anyone else. “I’m sure he won’t do anything to me, since my father is the Sheriff and knows where to get wolfsbane bullets.” 

Peter chuckled as his family members left the room. “Have a seat.” 

“I think I’ll stay standing.” Stiles muttered, coming to a realization. “This is where you’re going to start in on some bullshit about how you’ll kill me if I hurt your family, even though I’ve been taking care of them just fine without your help for the past six months and I was the one to convince both of your sons to actually meet you. You might think that blood gives you a claim to be in charge, but it doesn’t. So instead, this is me telling you that if you think you have the right to start making changes that Jackson and Theo aren’t comfortable with, I’ll stop you. You’re not the first person to come into our lives that wanted us to play by a new set of rules, and you’re probably not going to be the last. I’ve killed people just for threatening to hurt someone I care about and I’m surprisingly attached to the idea of not being murdered, myself. So if you want to threaten me, it had damn well better be a clever threat, because it’s going to be the last words anyone will hear you say.” 

Peter grinned. “You’re not entirely wrong, but you are wrong. I really would appreciate it if you sat down, because I haven’t had much mobility in the past six years and trying to look up at you is starting to hurt my neck.” He waited until Stiles was seated before he spoke again. “Thank you. And also, thank you for taking care of my family in my absence, while you were able to do so. To go over your points, in order? My nephew, niece and sons are werewolves. I won’t have to kill you if you harm any of them. They can do it themselves. I don’t blame, uh...”

“Jackson and Theo.” Stiles smiled. “Try to remember their names, they both have sizeable egos and you won’t earn yourself any points by forgetting or getting them mixed up.” 

“I don’t blame _my sons_ for not wanting to meet me. They both grew up without me and they seem to be doing well enough. They got their egos from me, in case that didn’t occur to you yet. What other threats have you encountered?” Peter squirmed, trying to get into a more comfortable position in his chair. 

Stiles grabbed a pillow from the hospital bed and gestured for Peter to lean forward. He put the pillow behind his back and adjusted it as he spoke. “Kate and Gerard Argent. I killed her, and he died of liver cancer. And then a classmate of mine and his father both went to prison for different crimes, but not before I was witness to my teacher being shot in the head. I would take credit for the nurse’s death, but she opted for a ritual suicide and Theo helped her along with his brand new claws. I wouldn’t give a shit about telling you any of this, but I have a feeling that Derek and Cora would do it anyway, so there’s no point in me withholding information, is there?” 

“Brand new claws?” Peter repeated, staring up at Stiles and not bothering to provide an answer for his obviously rhetorical question. 

“Not for me to say.” Stiles remarked. “If Theo feels like he can trust you, he’ll tell you himself.” 

“I’m under the impression that he doesn’t trust a lot of people.” Peter muttered. 

“No. Just me.” Stiles agreed. “Because I don’t lie to him. I have more respect for him than that. And I don’t know that I trust you, so that’s going to make a difference in how he feels, anyway. Give me something to work with? Give me a reason to trust you.” 

Peter’s amused smile turned bored. “I see, I was comatose for six years and now I have to appease children?” 

Stiles stared blankly back at him. 

“What do you want to know?” Peter sighed. 

“Why are your eyes red? Everyone else has yellow when they shift. Is it a hunger thing?” Stiles sat back down. 

“I’m the alpha of this pack.” Peter explained. “Some packs have more than one, but the Hales only had one at a time. With my sister and Laura both deceased, the honor should have gone to Derek. I suppose he decided to defer to you, and then I woke up and that power had to return to _some_ wolf. It was either going to be me or Cora.” 

“Not one of your sons?” Stiles didn’t hide that he was intrigued. 

“No, I don’t see why it would have gone to either of them, since they were raised by human families and wouldn’t have been encouraged to behave in a manner more fitting for werewolves, even with magic being locked away.” Peter frowned. “But Theo seems like he’s more likely to become feral than Jackson.” 

“Well, Theo’s - nope.” Stiles shook his head suddenly. “You’re an asshole, trying to lull me into being complacent enough to just tell you whatever you want to know.” 

Peter smiled. “I like you. Is there anything else that you would be willing to tell me?” 

“You went into a coma in two thousand-five, right?” Stiles tilted his head, thinking. 

Peter nodded, leaning forward a little. “Yes?” 

Stiles grinned slowly.


	5. Ellipsis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took a long time to write because I was dragged into the world of Game of Thrones (which will become more obvious when you read this chapter). I had a different idea in mind for what was going to happen here, but Theo's reintroduction in 6B left me feeling unsettled and I felt like writing a fix-it fic would be the only way to get past that. Since I don't want to have a thousand incomplete stories, I opted to change things up a little, here.

“No, listen. So I told him that he needs to learn about Facebook and Twitter.” Stiles laughed as he looked over at Scott. “And he said he didn’t understand why everything was blue, and it was like he woke up in that stupid song.” He checked the front door of the tattoo parlor, then walked around to the back entrance to make sure nobody had broken in while Marcus was on vacation. 

“What song?” Scott frowned. 

“Blue.” Stiles squinted at his friend. “Seriously, there are some things that I just don’t think I should have to explain to you. It doesn’t matter. Peter’s coming over for dinner tomorrow night, and the whole group of us are going to be there. That means you and Allison, too. And I told my dad that he has to be there because I don’t want Peter to lose his shit about Allison being an Argent. I already told her that she can bring her crossbow, but it _cannot_ be loaded. I’m going to talk to Erica and see if she wants to be a werewolf, since your asthma is gone and it might get rid of her seizures.” He led Scott back around to the front of the building, eyeing the drawings that he could see through the large window. “I’m thinking about getting a gun for the other side of my justice scales.” 

“What for? If you already have a badge, doesn’t it make sense to have something that’s not a police thing?” Scott smacked Stiles’ shoulder. “I heard the ice cream truck. Come on.” 

Stiles laughed as he ran after Scott, trying to keep up with him. “What are we, six? We can drive and buy ice cream at the store now.” 

“You know damned well that it doesn’t even taste the same.” Scott stopped at the corner and waved to the driver. “What kind do you want?” 

Stiles stared at Scott, unimpressed. 

“Well, shit. Excuse me, it’s been a while.” Scott muttered, smiling as he asked for two Sonic the Hedgehog ice creams and paid for them. He sat down on a bench in front of the laundromat and unwrapped his ice cream as Stiles sat beside him. “Okay, explain your tattoo to me.” 

“See, the badge is about order. Laws. Following guidelines.” Stiles shook his head as he gave his ice cream a mournful look. “Sonic always looks deformed, poor guy. Anyway, guns are more about chaos. At least, for me, they are. The first time I had to actually use one, and not just to hit a paper target, it fucked up my friendship with you. And Allison, but in my defense? She didn’t know me as long as you have. The second time, it was because Isaac had one. I don’t like not having control in a situation like that. A badge is order, guns are chaos. That’s my balance. As soon as Marcus comes back, I’m getting him to finish this thing. And Theo wants a tree.” 

Scott laughed. “A tree?” He flicked one of the frozen gumballs toward the street. 

“Yeah.” Stiles murmured. “Because he feels like that tree stump kind of woke him up to who he is. But he’s getting a full tree and everybody he cares about is going to be represented in the branches and at the base of it. I think it sounds hot as hell. It’s going on his back, and he said he’s going to surprise me with what he decides represents me, but Lydia demanded that she gets to be a butterfly. She’s drawing it, so he didn’t really feel like arguing with her. It suits her, anyway.” 

“Who else, though? Just the two of you? Maybe I should get one.” Scott looked at the Batman logo on Stiles’ left bicep. “I don’t know what I want, though.” 

“Well, Erica has Catwoman, Lydia has Poison Ivy, I have Batman.” Stiles glanced at Scott. “You could be Robin?” 

“I’m not interested in Batman. Not as much as you are.” Scott said quickly, when Stiles looked like he was going to start ranting at him. “Shouldn’t Theo be Robin, anyway? I mean, he’s your Boy Wonder.” He teased. 

“I have it on good authority that hitting you won’t hurt you. It won’t stop me from trying.” Stiles smirked. “You could be Superman. It could be a whole Justice League kind of thing.” 

“Or I could get a tattoo that doesn’t make me look like a super-nerd.” Scott smiled. 

Stiles calmly reached over, tugged Scott’s collar away from his neck, and shoved what was left of his ice cream down the back of his friend’s shirt. He patted it for good measure, standing up as Scott shivered. “See you at dinner tomorrow night, Scotty.” 

“Yeah, I deserved that.” Scott nodded. “Bye, Stiles.” 

Stiles laughed as he walked back toward the shop, calling Theo on the way. “Everything looks clear, it’s just a matter of getting Lydia to come in and do the tattoo for you. Marcus’ vacation sign is still up, so I think it’s safe to assume that he’s not like you. He would have come back here if he was, right? To see why he was different now?” 

“You know him better than I do.” Theo sounded distracted. “I’m coming over there now, but I was thinking about getting a pet. Is your dad allergic? I’m kind of surprised you don’t have one.” 

“I used to.” Stiles smiled to himself as he leaned against the brick wall of the building. “I had a boa constrictor. I forgot to put the lid on the cage and it escaped while I was at school. Or at least, that’s the story my dad likes to tell me. I think he got disgusted by how eager I was to feed it live mice. I guess he was afraid I’d become a serial killer.” 

Theo laughed. “After my tattoo, we’ll go look at animals, then. You’re too hot to be a serial killer.” 

“Aww, thanks.” Stiles waved to Lydia as she pulled up in front of the shop and parked. “Lydia just got here, we’ll see you soon.” 

***

Theo squirmed as the tape on the edges of his gauze pads pulled at his skin. He had a tattoo of a tree, with a butterfly resting on one branch and a fox asleep at the base of it. The pain had long since receded, and he just wanted to bring his new pet home to the Stilinski house. He had hoped for a puppy, but the gray kitten was the first animal he had seen that he wanted to adopt. “I have to decide on a name.” He told her, playing with her front paws. “What am I going to call you?” 

“If she keeps clawing at you like that, you should call her Arya.” Stiles teased. “But we can’t take her and leave this little guy behind.” He looked down at the frog, then frowned over at the kitten. “You don’t think she’ll try to eat him, do you? She’s more high-maintenance than he is. I know you want to get her and I’m not saying no, just that I want this one.” 

“Okay, but what are you going to name him?” Lydia stared at the frog, a skeptical look on her face. “Or her? It’s not like that’s a very cuddly pet. I pictured you as needing something more cuddly.” 

“I have Theo.” Stiles grinned. “I don’t need a pet to cuddle, I have a boyfriend.” 

Lydia gestured to the gray kitten, giving Stiles a pointed look. “I don’t think he feels the same way.” 

“Well, I still want the frog.” Stiles shrugged. “Maybe later, I’ll get something else.” He made a noise of protest as Lydia took the container from him and set it aside, returning with a small Boston terrier. He held his hands out and sighed, smiling to himself. “Fine, this one.” He murmured. 

“Now, what are you going to name him?” Lydia smiled. 

“Well, if she’s Arya...” Stiles waited for Theo to nod at him before he continued. “Then I’m going to name my dog Jorah. I hate most of the characters on Game of Thrones, but the show’s pretty good. And the books are, too. And it’s better than naming these guys Eileen and Dahmer or something creepy, with the typical source material we draw from.” 

Lydia blinked. “What the hell are you talking about?” She demanded. 

“I made Theo start playing World of Warcraft.” Stiles laughed. “He has a dwarf named Manson.” 

“Because of the beard.” Theo explained, smiling. 

***

A few hours later, Stiles slammed the door in his dad’s office at their house and glared at him. “Do you enjoy fucking things up for me?” 

“Excuse me?” Noah sat back in his seat and stared at his son. “Son, I know you’re pissed off that I told your boyfriend that he can’t just bring a pet in here, but I was going to say the same thing to you, if you had come home with him instead of going to the store.” 

Stiles put his hands down on the desk between them and stared at his dad. “Theo has never had a pet because he knew, even as a kid, that he would never be able to take care of one _and_ himself. He finally got to a point where he felt comfortable and wanted this place to feel even more like a home for him and an animal whose fate was beyond their control, the way he thinks his is. And instead of telling him to get a job or asking me if I was going to be able to afford pet food, which I can, by the way? You told him he wasn’t allowed to bring an animal in here. He thinks you kicked him out and he doesn’t want to come back.” 

Noah sighed. “Stiles, that might be for the best. I’m not so sure that I want someone you’re seeing to be living in the house with us. You’re sixteen, kid. You don’t need to be this serious about someone.” 

Stiles laughed sarcastically. “You think that Theo not living here means that I won’t have sex with him? Because I’m going to. Fairly often, in fact.” He kept talking over his father’s protests. “It’s not like either of us can get the other one pregnant.” 

“Are you sure about that?” Noah snorted. “This town has werewolves and Druids and witches in it, it might have pregnant men.” 

“Don’t change the subject on me. You think I don’t know that trick? He can’t go back to the house he was in, it’s already been sold.” 

“What exactly do you want me to do? Just tell him to come back.” Noah protested. 

“He’s not _coming back_!” Stiles yelled. “You know, I think you’ve forgotten what it was like, dealing with a parent who treated you like shit. I know what Grandpa did to you and Grandma. I know that when you found out why Isaac was how he was, you tried to talk Jackson’s dad into giving him a lesser sentence because you thought it wasn’t his fault he was so fucked up. But you’re not blameless. When Mom died, you abandoned me in every possible way that you could. I had to take care of myself. I slept by Mom’s grave, that first night after we buried her, remember? And you didn’t notice, you didn’t realize I had left the house until the next morning. I remember how your breath smelled like whiskey. I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or angry, back then. Because you didn’t even brush your teeth before you came to find me. So... points for that? But I knew that I still had you to do what needed to be done, if I made sure to remind you. To write down bill due dates on the calendar and ask Scott’s mom to let me do our grocery shopping when she did hers, and I ignored everything that Scott’s piece of shit dad said about you and me, and Mom. Over these last few months, I’ve managed to get a good group of friends. A family. And I thought you were still part of that, but now I’m not so sure, because you got lost in your own head and worried about what other people might say instead of just asking us what we had planned, to take care of Arya and Jorah.” 

“Baby names?” Noah guessed, running a hand over his face. He wasn’t going to argue with his son, he agreed with the points that Stiles was making. Or at least, most of them. 

“What?” Stiles laughed, shaking his head. “No, the cat is Arya and the dog is Jorah. We named them after Game of Thrones characters.” He was quiet, fidgeting. “I don’t want to yell at you and I don’t really think that you’re not part of my family. That was... I’m pissed off. It’s not right, I’m sorry for saying it. It’s like, when it comes to Theo, I just get so... like I want to smack the shit out of anyone that hurts him. I know that’s not exactly healthy. But he’s mine and he’s going through a rough time. He just found out that his birth mom is dead, that he was adopted in the first place. He’s a werewolf, he doesn’t know his father, his adoptive parents abandoned him, and you told him that he wasn’t welcome here. Whether those were the words you used or not, that’s what he thinks you said. That’s the important part. Perception. So he’s not coming back here and I’m not letting him do something dumb like try to live in his truck. If you rented an apartment, could I live there with him, do you think? I’d still come here and cook and clean and whatever else you need me to do, but I can maybe talk to everyone else in the, uh, pack? That’s weird to call my group of friends, but I guess that’s what we are. And maybe they’ll all chip in for rent and bills. I’ll have to learn how to do that myself eventually, anyway. It wouldn’t hurt to do it now.” 

“I’m not comfortable with you getting an apartment.” Noah stared across the desk at Stiles. “Maybe I should just talk to him myself and tell him I fucked up and that once in awhile, that happens, even to people over the age of twenty-five. Don’t look so disappointed. You’ll have your own place one day.” 

“Not if people keep trying to murder me.” Stiles muttered. 

“There’s my pessimist!” Noah grinned when Stiles laughed. “Go get started on dinner, whatever that boyfriend of yours has as a favorite meal. I’ll talk to him.” He left the office behind his son, going down the stairs and outside, to where Theo’s truck was parked in the driveway. “I think I just got swindled.” 

Theo looked up at Noah and rolled his window down when the Sheriff tapped on it. “I was going to leave.” He said quickly. “Stiles just told me to wait a few minutes for him while he packed his things.” 

“That’s not happening.” Noah shook his head, reaching in through the window and taking the key out of the ignition. “I’m not refusing to let him go with you, I’m refusing to let you leave. Get your kitten and come back in the house. This is your home. I have a pissed off kid in here who is probably going to make me eat salad for the rest of the year, all because I didn’t make myself clear when I told you that you needed to reconsider having a pet. I didn’t say you weren’t welcome. Apparently, that’s what you heard, anyway? I just wanted to remind you about responsibility and I forgot who I was talking to.” He sighed. “So get out of the damned truck and get in here. Save me from having nightmares about cabbage.” 

Theo smiled slowly. “I think you can handle it, sir.” He gestured for Noah to move back, getting out of the truck and turning around to reach in and pick up Arya. “I think that Stiles is going to make Peter eat oatmeal for dinner tomorrow night. My dad, I mean. Father. Whatever he is to me. Sperm donor, I guess.” 

“He’s a vindictive little shit.” Noah smiled. “I don’t know whether he gets that from me or his mother. Do you need help carrying anything back into the house?” 

“No.” Theo looked embarrassed. “I can carry all of it without any trouble. Maybe just get the door for me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment and let me know what you think, so far. If there's a character you want to see included in an upcoming chapter, don't hesitate to ask!


	6. Dinner Parties

Stiles watched, a passive smile on his face, as the table was set and food was served. His dad was at work at the station. The table was overcrowded, even though the extra sections of the table had been slotted into place, just for this. Stiles sat at one end, with Lydia on one side of him and Theo on the other. He had been cautious about where to seat everyone, but didn’t want to make place cards and make it too obvious. Instead, he just asked everyone to sit by another person that he knew they would get along with, and it didn’t necessarily look staged. 

Stiles had made sure that Peter was seated at the other end of the table, with Derek and Cora on either side of him, since they were the relatives he was familiar with. Boyd and Danny were separating the Hale end of the table from the other end because Stiles knew they were the quietest ones in his group of friends. Having them act as buffers or gatekeepers was all he could do for now. Erica was beside Boyd, and Jackson sat beside Theo. Allison was beside Lydia, and Scott sat between Allison and Danny. 

“Tell me, Stiles.” Peter spoke up once everyone’s plate was loaded with food. “Do you play chess?” 

Stiles nodded. “I do, yeah. I’m pretty good at it. Why?” He already knew why Peter was asking, but he wanted the older man to explain himself in front of everyone else. 

“Because this was a very strategic placement of people you spend time with. I know now that you used to date Derek.” Peter murmured, his gaze going to his nephew before he looked back at Stiles. “Now, he’s dating Lydia, but you chose to separate them from one another at this table. It is your home, after all. You would have had every right to tell someone to move. Meanwhile, Theo is seated next to you. Scott and Allison are dating and they’re seated together, as are Erica and Boyd. Why, then, would you insist on Lydia sitting at your other side, instead of with her significant other? I doubt that you feared for her safety, or you wouldn’t have extended this invitation to me in the first place. I highly doubt that it’s out of jealousy. No, she would have most likely protested that being a reason. It also didn’t escape my attention that you’ve seated her at your right, whether that was intentional or not. She is your lieutenant. Oddly, you’ve seated Derek at _my_ right, as though you think I would select him as my lieutenant.” 

“Peter, shut up.” Derek muttered, his gaze averted in embarrassment. “It’s dinner, not chess.” 

“On the contrary, dear nephew.” Peter smiled as he looked around the table. “I have a feeling that with Stiles, everything is chess. The head of the table is where the head of the family sits. In traditional homes, a mother is at one end while a father is at the other. I know better than to think that there was some sort of Freudian element to the seating arrangements. Stiles sees himself as the powerful one here. Maybe because it’s his home, maybe because he demands respect. Maybe both?” 

“That would also imply that he thinks you’re powerful.” Cora snorted. 

“I’m the Alpha.” Peter shrugged. “Even if my family won’t respect that, it’s nice to see that someone does. I don’t care if that respect is borne out of fear or approval. The next time we do this, I expect the seating to be much different.” He pulled a key from his pocket and threw it to the other end of the table, where Theo caught it before it could hit Stiles.

Theo snarled at his father, his eyes glowing yellow. “Don’t ever do that again.” 

Peter nodded in response, his gaze going from one teenager to the next as he realized that all of them were angry, and more than a few looked like they wanted to kill him. “Forgive me, I wasn’t attempting to harm him. I was giving him a key to my apartment. I am in charge here, and I’d like to make Stiles my second in command.” 

“That’s a little presumptuous.” Lydia exchanged looks with Stiles before she spoke again. “I don’t know that I would necessarily say Stiles is in charge of us, but he has become someone that we respect in certain situations that we’ve found ourselves in. You don’t have the right to just come here and say that you’re taking over any role he’s played in our lives, these last few months. This isn’t some corporate buyout, these are our lives you’re attempting to control. Derek and Cora might know you, but the rest of us do not, and those of us without fangs have no impulse to bow to you.” 

Beside Lydia, Allison nodded. “I especially don’t relish the idea of letting you tell me what to do. I know that my family and yours have had some issues in the past. I’m not my aunt or grandfather, but there’s no guarantee for me right this second that you won’t see me that way. Build trust, then we’ll talk.” 

“You want this guy to give me the bite?” Erica demanded, frowning at Stiles. “So far, all he’s done is try to bury a key in your forehead and tell us he’s the new boss. I don’t like my seizures, but I’m not interested in some kind of metaphysical need to obey a guy I barely know. You don’t understand what it’s like for us.” She gestured to herself, then Lydia and Allison. “When I was twelve, I missed the bus to get home, and I decided to walk because it was a nice day. A guy in a rusty pick-up truck pulled up beside me when I was only a couple of blocks from school, and he called out to me that he would give me twenty dollars for a blow job. I ignored him, but he followed me, and he kept trying to raise the price. When I didn’t respond to that, he started yelling at me, calling me a stuck-up bitch.” 

Stiles scowled, but his voice was low and even. “Do you remember his license plate number or anything else about him?” 

“That’s not the important part of her story.” Allison said gently. “I was fifteen when that same kind of thing first happened to me. Moving around as much as we did, we would stay in hotels a lot. I was getting myself a soda from a vending machine when a drunk guy blocked the doorway and told me he wouldn’t let me past him unless I gave him a kiss.” 

“What did you do?” Scott reached for Allison’s hand, lacing their fingers together. 

“I threw the can at his head, kicked him in the stomach and told him to fuck off.” Allison muttered. “And then I told my dad. Lydia?” 

“It’s not important that we all share our stories.” Lydia murmured. “I just wanted to make it clear that we’re not ready to let someone we barely know into our lives.” 

Stiles stared at Lydia. “Eat your food,” he told everyone else, not taking his gaze from her as the sound of clinking forks and soft conversation replaced the silence. 

“Leave it alone.” Lydia shook her head at him. 

“You know I can’t do that.” Stiles got up from the table and held a hand out to her. 

Lydia made a face at him, but she took his hand and left the room, going to his room with him and sitting down on his bed. “You’re going to look for the guy that was harassing Erica, aren’t you?” 

“I’m going to look for every guy that has ever harassed her. And you. And Allison. Cora.” Stiles said earnestly. 

“Are you going to punch yourself in the face?” Lydia stared up at him. 

“No, why would...” Stiles sat down beside her. “Oh.” 

“You were never as bad as anyone else I’ve encountered.” Lydia said quickly. “And I’m still flattered that you saw me as being the kind of person you wanted to spend the rest of your life with. But I ignored you because you made me uncomfortable. I didn’t know you well enough, and I only heard about you from other people who liked to exaggerate about your interest in me. Expecting me to talk to you in the hallways when you didn’t know me very well, either? That was tame, in comparison to some of the things I’ve been asked or told to do. Things I’ve had said about me. You can’t go around attacking every guy that has ever behaved this way. There wouldn’t be enough men left in the world. I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Are you going to nag me until I do?” 

“I might. I have a suspicion about what you’re going to say. And who you’re going to say it about.” Stiles muttered. 

“It wasn’t Jackson.” Lydia looked around the room. “Theo’s influence in here is noticeable.” 

“Don’t change the subject. Why does everyone think that’s going to work on me?” Stiles snorted. “I know it wasn’t Jackson. It was your dad. How bad was it, though? Did he-” 

“He never did anything gross.” Lydia put her head down on Stiles’ shoulder, not wanting to see his expression. She felt embarrassed, and it wasn’t even her fault. “He’s got old-fashioned ideas about a woman’s role in the home and the amount of intelligence that women are capable of. He doesn’t always express those opinions in an eloquent manner. He actually thought I would want to live with him, after my parents got divorced. I thought it might escalate if my mom wasn’t around.” 

“Are you going to tell me anything he said directly to you?” Stiles smiled, but he wasn’t pleased by what Lydia was telling him. It was surreal, thinking about how he still wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, but in the same way that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Scott and Erica, Jackson and Derek. He wanted to protect Lydia, to prevent her from dealing with something he hadn’t realized was such a serious problem for all of the girls he knew. 

“No, I’m not going to do that.” Lydia said firmly. “Can we go eat dinner now?” 

“Yeah.” Stiles didn’t reach for her hand this time, knowing she would see it as an insult if he tried. He sat back down at the dining room table, eating as he looked around at his friends. He wanted to give Peter the chance to become a leader, but it was going to take longer than the span of one dinner. Except for Derek and Cora, everyone was ignoring the older man. Stiles spoke loudly enough to be heard over everyone else. “Peter, what was your favorite class in high school?” He felt Lydia’s hand on his arm, reassuring him that he was doing the right thing. 

Peter smiled gratefully as conversation around them died again. “I enjoyed history classes. I don’t know which one was my favorite, but it was a much easier subject than science, and less frustrating than any of the language arts courses.” 

“How so?” Lydia looked intrigued. 

“Peer reviews made me want to shred everything I was forced to read.” Peter laughed. “And the reviews I received were written by people who didn’t know what good literature was. Science is difficult because it’s a field that has constant new developments. Something you learned as a freshman may no longer hold true by the time you’re seniors. Keeping it all straight can be frustrating. I suppose that I’ll have to adjust to this world that I barely recognize. The buildings in this town may not have changed much, but the world around us is decidedly different. It was a mistake for me to assume that I would come here and instantly be given control as Alpha. I have a lot of catching up to do.” He stood up, waving a hand at his niece and nephew when they protested. “I’m not running off to join the circus, I’m just going home before I overstay my welcome. I’d like to invite all of you to my apartment sometime this week. Perhaps Wednesday?” 

Stiles nodded. “Wednesday.” He agreed. “What time?” 

“Seven is when I’d like to have dinner, so maybe five o’clock?” Peter suggested. “That will give us time to make all sorts of awkward conversation in the two hours we’ll be waiting before we eat.” He smiled, pleased, when Erica laughed. “I’ll see you then.” 

***

Peter growled at himself on Wednesday afternoon. He had arranged and rearranged his living room, wanting to get the perfect layout because he was certain that it would go a long way toward convincing Lydia that he wasn’t a complete idiot. He was comfortable in the opinion that he had Stiles’ approval, and Derek and Cora had a fondness for him from the time they knew him, before he went into a coma. Winning over the other eight pack members was something that would take time, but he was desperate for it. He didn’t want it to be too obvious. If they were older, he would have picked up a bottle of wine and hoped that it would be enough to get him into their good graces in one evening. He didn’t have that luxury. 

The elevator whirred to life at four-thirty, and Peter sighed to himself, even as he smiled. He should have expected a curveball or two from a bunch of rebellious teenagers. He had been one, once. 

The door swung open and Stiles practically leaped out of the elevator, grimacing. “That thing is way too small for all of us to fit in it. Three at a time was more than enough. If we had tried to squeeze one more person in there, somebody would have ended up pregnant. Probably me.” 

“You may need a biology tutor.” Peter paused, smiling. “Unless that’s another development that happened in my very long nap.” He nodded to Scott and Jackson, but he couldn’t help wondering why Stiles had chosen the two of them to accompany him. They were both new to being werewolves and probably didn’t have very good control. Once Peter gave it consideration, he decided that Stiles must have deliberately brought Scott and Jackson with him, in case this was a trap. “I’m not out to kill you. I told you that before.” He looked over at Stiles as the elevator returned, bringing Derek, Cora and Theo up, next. 

“If you were, you’d lose all of them and have a very difficult time trying to find betas in this town.” Stiles smiled calmly. “And that’s if my dad didn’t shoot you for killing me. But again, that’s already been discussed. It’s good to see that you remember our conversation.” 

Peter turned his attention to the elevator, not wanting to let on that he felt proud of Stiles’ behavior. He had no doubt that Stiles didn’t trust him, but he could see that the _intent_ to trust him was there. He was interested in how everyone else came to his apartment, what sort of groups they were arranged in. Boyd and Danny were the third return, and the three human girls were the last to arrive. Peter’s gaze flicked down toward Allison’s loaded crossbow, not hiding his disgust as he looked up at her. 

Allison stared back at him, removing the arrow from the bow as she motioned for Lydia and Erica to go ahead of her. She put both items into her purse. “Do you have anything to drink?” 

“Do you always show up, as an invited guest, with a loaded weapon?” Peter put his hand on Allison’s back, smiling in satisfaction when she tensed up at the pressure of his claws against her spine. “Come on, I’ll escort you to the kitchen.” 

“I was going to bring a gun, but I’ve been forbidden to touch them since I stole some from my father, to kill your nurse.” Allison spoke as she walked into the kitchen with Peter. She opened the fridge door, leaning forward just enough to reach for a bottle of water, but not so far that he was no longer touching her. 

“Danger appeals to you?” Peter asked quietly. “So much so that you’re not going to protect yourself right now?” 

“You would be stupid to harm any of us.” Allison leaned back against Peter’s hand, untwisting the cap on her bottle and taking a drink. “Is it strange to you that you were devoid of romantic entanglements for six years? Or does it feel like no time has passed? You were asleep for all of it, weren’t you?” 

“You can’t attack me violently, so you’ll do it mentally?” Peter stepped away from Allison, folding his arms across his chest. He spoke at a normal volume, suddenly irritated and wanting other people to suffer for it. “Does your boyfriend know that you go around making sexual advances toward formerly comatose men?” 

“You say that like you think I have a habit of it.” Allison leaned back against the counter, eyeing Peter as she set her drink aside. “Scott knows that I’m capable of defending myself against any threat, and when someone chooses to try to intimidate me by putting their hand on me, I have more than one way to make them realize what a mistake that is.” 

“Let’s start over.” Peter suggested. “Welcome to my home, Allison Argent. I don’t hold you responsible for the sins of your grandfather and aunt. I am the Alpha of the Hale pack of Beacon Hills. I hope you can forgive someone who has been out of touch with society for six years. I have no intention of harming you, as long as you’re a guest in my home.” 

“You can’t be an alpha without a pack.” Theo leaned against the kitchen island, resting his forearms on it. “Who exactly do you think you’re alpha to?” 

Peter looked at his son, not sure how to answer his question. He really regretted inviting everyone over, since they were keeping him on his toes so much, he may as well have been doing ballet. 

“He’s alpha to us, you dirtbag.” Cora snapped, moving to stand beside her uncle. “Me and Derek. We don’t need the rest of you, and I’m sick of you making him jump through hoops. If you don’t want to acknowledge that he’s your bio dad, that’s fine. Fuck off, then.” 

Peter closed his eyes when he saw Theo smirk. He had only wanted to get to know his sons and he knew that would mean welcoming their friends, to make everyone more comfortable around him. Theo was far too much like him, it seemed. He had said the one thing that would annoy Cora into telling him to get out, and it had worked, so he was free to go. “Wait.” He heard Allison laugh and Cora swear as he looked at Theo. “I would prefer you stayed here. At least through dinner?” 

“We’re staying.” Stiles called out. “But I think we should all sit down and watch a movie until it’s time for dinner. If that’s okay with you, I mean. It’s your apartment.” 

Peter laughed bitterly. “Are you sure it’s my place? It seems like I don’t have a say in anything while you’re here.” 

Stiles looked around at everyone. He nodded to himself and walked over to the elevator, whispering words to Theo before the werewolf sighed and stepped back. Stiles took the elevator back down to the lobby. 

Peter could practically taste the disappointment that spread through the pack. “I was planning to order something. Chinese? Pizza? What do all of you enjoy?” 

“When Stiles cooks.” Scott muttered, sitting down on the couch. 

“Breakfast for dinner.” Erica agreed. “Pecan pancakes.” She looked up at Peter as he walked into the living room. “I know the goal here is to get all of us to be your little ducklings, but I just don’t see it working.” 

“You’re not really giving me much of a chance.” Peter sat down in his chair. “What did Stiles do to prove himself to you?” 

“Peed on my sand castle. That’s not a recommendation.” Scott laughed. “I’ve known him since we were three.” 

“He told me that he knew I was intelligent, even though I never let anyone else see that about me.” Lydia murmured. “For a long time, I was content to let everyone believe I lacked intelligence.” 

“The light in the cafeteria was blinking.” Erica sat up, squirming a little when she realized everyone was looking at her. “I have epilepsy. I couldn’t eat in the cafeteria because the light made me have seizures. Stiles demanded that it get fixed and he wouldn’t leave the school staff alone until they repaired the light. Before that, I was stuck eating in the nurse’s office at school. She wasn’t even there. It was lonely.” 

“He made sure I got something to eat.” Derek smiled. “Laura was dead, Cora was captive, and I was terrified that they would kill her or me, or both of us. We were fully human, not werewolves. One of the things that Kate and Gerard made me do was give them surveillance of the Sheriff’s house for an entire day. Stiles could have turned me away, and then Cora would have probably been murdered. Stiles didn’t know any of that, he just saw me as being someone who came into his house and sat there all day, and he made sure I had something to do. Something to eat. He even went to his room for awhile and trusted me to stay in his living room. Like I was a friend, not just a guest.” He gave Peter a pointed look. “He’s not welcoming to everybody, and not right away for any of us, but if he was a werewolf, there’s no doubt in my mind that his eyes would be red.”

“Okay.” Peter needed a minute to process that information. “Maybe trying to speak with all of you in a group was the wrong approach. You’re all welcome to stay for dinner tonight, but if I’m going to have you accept me as your alpha, I’ll need to go about this differently. I thought the problem was that we were at Stiles’ home, last time. This time, I thought he was the problem. But he’s not a problem at all.” 

“He never has been.” Scott frowned at Peter. “Why would you even think that he was?” 

“Because Stiles is a gatekeeper.” Lydia muttered. “He’s the one who makes sure that things get done, that needs are met. Whether we intended it or not, he’s functioning as our alpha, but that conflicts with what Peter is used to. Derek and Cora have had time to adjust to life outside of a pack hierarchy. Peter hasn’t. If we’re going to make this work, because Stiles _wants_ us to make it work or he wouldn’t have left us here, we’ll all need time to figure out how to accept Peter as being in charge. If we can.” 

Peter smiled, glancing toward his nephew, who looked even more enamored than he had when he finally got a girlfriend, in high school. 

“Pizza.” Jackson waved a hand to get Peter’s attention. “Theo likes beef and mushroom because he’s a plebeian, but the rest of us are fine with pepperoni or plain cheese.” 

“I want green peppers on mine.” Lydia stared at Peter like she expected him to argue with her. 

Peter ordered six pizzas from the quiet of his kitchen, doing his best to ignore the hurried whispering in the living room. When he returned, he was greeted with ten faces that were either resigned or determined. “What have I missed?” 

“Barack Obama is President now.” Erica gave Peter a devious smile. “And vampires are cool again.” 

Peter rolled his eyes. “Stiles already explained most of this to me. I meant ‘what have I missed while I was ordering dinner?’” 

“We’ve decided that if this dinner goes well enough, we’re going to meet with you in groups of two and three, to give you a chance to get to know us without there being so many of us at once. You’ll have to arrange time with Stiles on your own, but we’re not ignoring him in favor of spending time with you.” 

“You make it sound like a messy divorce.” Peter commented. 

“Well, it sort of is.” Danny looked around the room. “Your apartment is nice, but you’re making us meet with you here, without Stiles’ involvement, because you’re worried that he’ll undermine your authority. We’re not comfortable, and it’s like we’re being forced to spend time with Dad - for some of us, literally - while Mom sits at home and wonders if her kids are okay. Please never tell Stiles I called him a girl.” 

Cora laughed. “I’m telling him right now.” She remarked, looking up from her phone, where she was texting Stiles. “He says you’re grounded.” 

Jackson wandered out of the room, but Peter didn’t bother trying to call out to him, to convince him to come back. For all he knew, his son was trying to find the bathroom. “Did all of you want to watch a movie?” 

“No.” Allison shook her head. “That’s something we do with Stiles. He makes flavored popcorn and... that’s not important, is it? You’re not Stiles. We shouldn’t be comparing the two of you.” 

“It’s nearly impossible for all of us to avoid that.” Lydia argued, but she didn’t sound angry. “We’re used to Stiles. We’re going to compare them, and a stranger can’t possibly treat us the way that Stiles does. Peter hasn’t had time to get to know us. I’m getting tired of repeating myself.” 

Peter watched, intrigued, as Allison and Lydia had a silent conversation. The brunette muttered to herself and left the room, presumably to search for Jackson. “What exactly was that?” 

“Nothing for you to worry about.” Lydia said sharply. “How long until our food arrives?” 

“Allegedly, half an hour.” Peter frowned. “I would say that all of you are welcome to leave, but I don’t take comfort in the idea of being forced to eat pizza for the next week, by myself. If you’d like to take your pizzas and go home when they arrive, that’s acceptable.” 

“Quitter.” Erica smirked. 

“Erica, it’s rude to torment people. As you well know.” Lydia shook her head. 

“Well, it’s not my fault that Red Eyes over here is a giant baby.” Erica muttered. “You can’t be in charge if you’re going to toss us out of your apartment just because you’re not getting your own way, Peter.” 

“I just expected a little more give than take.” Peter admitted. “What would you have me do?” 

“Well, by the look of this place, I’d say you’re loaded.” Erica said bluntly. “Buy us presents. I like presents.” She shrugged when Boyd frowned at her. “I don’t care about monetary value of a gift, I just want something that proves that he’s taking the time to get to know us!” She insisted. “Anybody can buy us some damned pizza, that’s not the same thing.” 

Peter was surprised by his eagerness to comply with Erica’s request. He could see value in taking everyone shopping individually and getting to know them by seeing what sort of things they gravitated toward. It would promote conversation and help him much more than these pack dinners that only served to remind him how powerless he was, how a teenage boy was somehow more adept at providing for everyone than he was. “Okay.” He murmured. “I can do that. We’ll start tomorrow.” 

“Who are you shopping for, first?” Erica looked like she was going to leap from the couch and tackle Peter if he said any name but hers, so he gestured to her. She beamed at him, and he felt like he was finally getting somewhere.


	7. Erica

“Here are the rules.” Peter told Erica the next morning. 

“Why are there rules at all?” Erica stared at Peter. “I know what I want already.” 

“Here are the rules.” Peter repeated. “One, I’m giving you a limit of a hundred dollars. This does not include money spent on food, which will be part of our day. If you would rather just have the hundred dollars, you can get it, but not until after we eat. We aren’t eating until we’ve completed an entire circuit of the mall, and you have to answer ten questions for me during that walk. No food until you’ve answered the questions in a manner I deem satisfactory. Any questions before we begin?” 

“Do we have to go into every store? I don’t like the strobe lights in Spencer’s.” Erica frowned. “If you drag me into a store that fucks me up and makes me seize and piss myself, you’re giving me five hundred dollars and I’m telling everyone else that I don’t trust you.” 

Peter blinked. “No, we won’t go into any store that you don’t want to go into. But we will be walking past all of them. If you need to close your eyes and have me guide you past any store, I’ll do that for you.” 

“The last time I let some asshole I didn’t know lead me around while I couldn’t see, he turned out to be the guy that was trying to kill my friends.” Erica shook her head. “Maybe you should just buy me a pretzel and give me the money.” 

“I would rather not.” Peter murmured. “I had no idea about that happening to you, which is why I think getting to know you might help prevent me from saying things that seem as though they’re only going to offend you.” He held his arm out to her. “Shall we begin?” 

“I’m not taking your arm.” Erica started walking through the center of the mall, heading toward one of the corridors. “A hundred dollars isn’t as much as I thought you might spend on me, but it’s more than I had in mind for what I want.” 

“What do you want?” Peter grimaced when Erica looked triumphant. 

“That’s your second question. The first one was asking me if we should start walking. You only get eight more, so choose carefully.” Erica smiled. “I want to get my hair cut. I’ve never done anything with it because I was hiding behind it. I don’t need to do that anymore. I don’t have to look nicer to get a boyfriend, I have one already. But I want to look like the kind of girl that has a boyfriend in the first place.” 

Peter felt like reminding Erica that the ten questions were over when _he_ deemed them answered, but she looked like she was wavering between excited and intimidated, so he let it go. He would make sure not to make that mistake with the others. “What else do you want to look for, today?” 

“Well, the haircut is probably going to cost me fifty.” Erica smiled. “I want lipstick and nail polish. Maybe a manicure, if it’s in the price range. Can you answer a couple of questions for me?” 

Peter nodded. “If I’m able to, I will.” 

“Why do you want to take control of us so badly? I know it’s because we’re a pack and you’re an alpha.” Erica shrugged when Peter shushed her. “Whatever, I’ll just tell them that we’re playing Dungeons and Dragons. What do you get out of this? Is it painful, not having betas? Is it like not having an arm?” 

“It’s a vulnerability.” Peter admitted begrudgingly. “If I can’t get all of you to accept me, I’ll take who I can get and look for anyone else to fill the gaps. Ideally, three betas would be a minimum. I think that if Derek and Cora agree, I’ll really only need one more of you, but it would be nice to have all twelve of us working together.” 

“Okay.” Erica went into the salon, signing in for the next available haircut. She sat down beside Peter and picked up a magazine. “We have twenty minutes and you have eight questions, so you might as well ask them.” 

“How long have you been seeing Boyd?” Peter turned his head to look at her, relieved when she put the magazine down and chose to focus on their conversation, instead. 

“Since February.” Erica smiled. “After everyone got freaked out about almost dying, a lot of people started dating. A couple of girls got pregnant and they’re not coming back to school, this August. I actually gave it some consideration, myself.” 

“Why would you want to have a baby so young?” Peter stared at her, horrified. 

Erica laughed. “Not having a baby. Dropping out. I can learn just as easily from home as I can at school. Maybe even more easily, since I would not have to deal with assholes disrupting class every two seconds. But I wouldn’t get to see my friends as often. For as much as I’m around them, my parents hate them. They blame everyone for what happened with Isaac, like Stiles somehow made Isaac decide to bring a gun to school, or when he tried to kill Scott. I’m not talking about the rest of that. Ask someone else, it’ll give you something to talk about with them.” 

“You do know that the bite would make you stronger and eliminate your risk of seizures?” Peter asked quietly. 

“Yeah, I’ve heard all of it already. I got the whole rant from Stiles, who really wants me to do this. And I can see the appeal, but like I said the other day, I don’t want to be mind-controlled by a guy who might take advantage of me.” Erica glanced up when her name was called. “Hold on, we’ll talk about this when I’m done.” 

Peter was down to five questions for Erica and had a whole lot more for everyone else. He took the time to try to familiarize himself with his new phone, paying for Erica’s haircut when she was done. “You look nice.” 

“I look fucking hot.” Erica grinned. “But thank you. I guess you can’t really tell me that, can you?” 

“I could.” Peter held his arm out to her again, out of reflex, but Erica put her hand on his elbow this time. “But there’s not much delight in complimenting a woman who knows how beautiful she is. It’s more fascinating to tell someone that you find them attractive and watch them look startled.” 

“You just like to shake up someone’s world, don’t you?” Erica laughed when Peter nodded in response. “Well, don’t shake up mine, I can do that all by myself. Now come on, I want lipstick.” 

Peter dutifully walked with Erica. “You know, you’re getting a lot of stares. And you’re down to fifty dollars, just as you predicted.” 

“Good, and good.” Erica smiled. “They probably think you’re my sugar daddy.” 

“They’re technically not wrong.” Peter smirked. “I’m buying you things in hopes that you’ll provide me with relief for a need I have.” 

“I’ve decided that I like you.” Erica’s smile widened. “Lydia’s constantly trying to correct my behavior like she’s my mother, and everyone else just groans when I say something crude. Stiles indulges me, so I guess I was testing you. You passed.” 

“Why are all of you so enamored with him?” Peter demanded in frustration. “I had hoped for a chance to speak to you without his name being brought up, but I have a feeling that all of these shopping excursions will be more of the same.” 

“Okay, I might want to take that back right now.” Erica frowned, letting go of Peter’s arm and turning toward him. “You weren’t there just recently, when some psycho bitch showed up at Lydia’s and threatened to shoot any of us if we alerted Stiles to her presence. We had to sit there in the dark, completely silent, for the better part of an hour. She caused me to have a seizure and I was tired and scared, and mostly pissed off because we’d already dealt with this shit twice. I managed to get the gun away from her and I thought she might kill me for trying, but I wasn’t going to let her intimidate him. She did all of that, and killed a bunch of people, to make you wake up. So you’re going to have to excuse us for wanting to cling to him a little tighter and not be your new best friends.” 

“Why don’t you just go ahead and pick out what you want in here, and I’ll pay for it?” Peter suggested. 

“Fine, and that leaves you with four questions.” Erica went into the store and started browsing through lipstick. She picked up a dark purple shade, but Peter took it out of her hand and held out a deep red color.

“If I’m paying for you to have something that makes you look good, you should actually look good. Some girls can pull off the goth look. You’re not one of them.” Peter turned and started rummaging through containers in the sale bin that Erica had been going through. He frowned and walked away from it, grabbing Erica’s wrist as he moved past her, in an effort to bring her with him. “Excuse me.” He called out to the sales clerk. “My cousin is interested in changing up her look before she returns to school. Her usual habit involves dark purple lip gloss. I think I’ve convinced her to use red instead, but I’m not exactly clear on current trends for teenage girls. Can you give me some assistance?” 

The woman gave Peter a once-over, then smiled and turned toward Erica. “Follow me.” She led Erica and Peter around the store, pointing out what brands she thought were best and recommending different products to Erica. By the time they were done, they had a basket full of items that definitely exceeded the fifty dollar limit Erica was down to. 

“Shit.” Erica muttered, frowning down at the basket. “Okay, I have a plan. You go show her your dick and I’ll walk out of here with everything.” 

Peter burst out laughing at her audacity. “And what happens when the alarms go off and mall security chases you out? You’re not a werewolf, you certainly can’t outrun them.” 

Erica stopped sifting through the cosmetics, looking up at Peter. “But if I _was_ a werewolf, I could have a better shot at getting away with stealing?” 

“If you were a werewolf in my pack, I’d take you on a shopping trip like this at least once a month, and you wouldn’t need to steal.” Peter smiled. “In fact, if you agree right now to join me, I’ll buy you clothes that get you as much attention as your haircut.” 

“If I say yes right now, can I get all of the makeup that’s in this basket?” Erica asked quietly. “I have one more thing I want, after that.” 

“Name it.” Peter was already guiding Erica toward the counter, eager to hurry up and get done in the store, so that he could take her somewhere private and bite her. 

“Teach me how to drive. Stiles has given me a few lessons, but I don’t like his Jeep and I don’t want to tell him that and hurt his feelings. It’s really old and falling apart, but he doesn’t want to get rid of it because it was his mom’s. I know you don’t want me mentioning him, but it’s unavoidable. I want to get my license. I want more freedom than I have.” Erica looked up at Peter, meeting his gaze. 

“Consider it done.” Peter smiled as he paid for the makeup, ignoring the total because now she was pack. He could already feel a bond between them. He carried the bag out of the store, going back toward the family restroom. He would have preferred a different place, but it was the closest. On the way, he stopped off for peroxide and gauze pads. “How many questions do I have left, that I can ask you?” He realized his mistake when the words were out of his mouth. “Damn it.” 

“One!” Erica giggled. “You have one question left.” 

Peter opened the door to the family bathroom, smiling widely at a woman who glared at him as though she had any idea of what was going to happen between Erica and Peter. When they were both inside, he locked the door and motioned for Erica to sit on the chair in the corner. He knelt down in front of her, taking her right hand in his left. “Do you accept me as your alpha?” 

Erica nodded. “Yes, I do.” 

“Close your eyes and squeeze my hand when it hurts.” Peter instructed, pushing Erica’s shirt out of the way and leaning in to bite into her abdomen. 

Erica whimpered, tightening her grip on his hand and clenching her teeth as Peter broke through the skin on her stomach. 

Peter cleaned the wound and bandaged it, looking up at Erica. “You handled that beautifully.” 

“You’d better buy me all the best food.” Erica stood up carefully, tugging her shirt back down over the wound. She looked at Peter for a moment, then hugged him. “Thank you.” 

“Thank you.” Peter echoed.


End file.
